Heart palpitations

[duckie21]

Are there many people on beta blockers for heart palpitations. Mine have got worse as I've got older. If I'm undermedicated or overmedicated I get them . Of course they say that it's not serious but it's very unsettling. I do take beta blockers but they don't always work .

[Obsdian]

I am. My palpitations aren't from thyroid issues, I don't know if that's relevant or not. I also have a fast heart rate so my beta blockers are treating both.

I found beta blockers had an immediate effect on heart rate but it took a few months for palpitations to calm. They aren't gone entirely but are weaker and less frequent. Now they come with stress or over exertion.

[arTistapple in reply to Obsdian]

My first thought (as a fellow sufferer) is why you think “My palpitations aren’t from thyroid issues.” However that aside, I just keep looking for reasons and I have come up with quite a few reasons very much including over and under medication. These reasons may or may not apply to you too duckie21 .

Low blood sugar (you don’t have to be diabetic for this, although that will make the symptoms happen more often). I am thinking at this juncture, that more thyroid medication, if it’s doing its job, also means higher metabolism and higher metabolism means a need for more fuel. This can be awkward to service if you also don’t feel like eating.

Sleep apnea.

Anxiety. Stress (another word for anxiety in my book). This can be a sudden attack of ‘brain fog’ (for me) usually at a time of ‘extreme executive function meltdown’. Another accompaniment of hypothyroidism. Again, can be affected by under or over medicating.

Low adrenals. Another issue.

Low ‘other’ hormone levels.

Simply tired after having a good day and remaining ‘over stimulated’.

Having to be on time for something I have not properly planned (effectively creating an anxiety situation for myself). This is caused by my inability to get around easily, never mind hurry under those circumstances.

Just about any other Co-morbidity which jollies along with hypothyroidism.

I have been working my way through the list. Presently I am working on my pre-disposition to anxiety, caused by my hypothyroidism. How do we ever know when our hypothyroidism becomes a problem? Subclinical seems to be very misunderstood or given much credibility and consequently ignored by medics. Crikey even full blown hypothyroidism gets ignored by medics. So how long has having this condition undermined our health, our capabilities - even our personalities? Most of us will be unable to pinpoint this.

No, for me, I can vouch for being really very ill for a long time before I was informed of diagnosis. I am still working on it.

[Obsdian in reply to arTistapple]

I have dysautonomia. Thyroid was ruled out in the process of diagnosing dysautonomia.

[arTistapple in reply to Obsdian]

Honestly not being funny. Chicken or egg? I had a heart attack more than twenty years ago. No acknowledgement of hypothyroidism then (or for at least another twenty years). However after joining the Forum I asked for my whole medical records. There it was! A dodgy thyroid blood test result taken by cardiology about one year before the heart attack. I also had other hypo symptoms but no-one was taking a blind bit of notice. Lost my job, my business etc before the heart attack. Nothing done about it at the time. ‘Recent’ research confirms my problem as a thyroid problem - but actually the heart/thyroid connection has been well known for generations - over a century. Doctors including cardiologists are continuing to ignore the connection. Hence my suspicious mind - never mind my total lack of confidence in anything medics say/do/diagnose etc etc. I admit complete suspicion. I admit bias.

However indeed it may not apply to you!

Naturally enough, my symptoms are worse with any kind of stress and over exertion.

This includes insulting someone unintentionally on the Forum with my loud opinions. Apologies in case this is what has just happened. I can assure you no harm was meant!

[Obsdian in reply to arTistapple]

One thing I find unhelpful on this forum is the lack of thinking beyond thyroid issues. While thyroid hormones do affect everything, they aren't the only problem people can have. If we only ever have people thinking thyroid we may be blocking them from seeking investigations into other things that may help or provide answers.

[arTistapple in reply to Obsdian]

I find my experience and that of many others to be the complete opposite. We seek help and don’t find it.

[Judithdalston in reply to Obsdian]

Have had Long Covid for 4.75 years which has caused high BP/HR, dysautonomia in the form of postural hypotension. This is ontop of existing (22-10 years before) diabetes, hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia . Seen a endo.who specialises in thyroid with heart problems…he was sure high HR was nothing to do with hypothyroid treatment ( 100 levo/ 15 T3 despite TSH regularly 0.02/3 range)! But I can quite believe have one chronic disease others will follow, and they, plus their treatment, will have a knock on effect. At this endo.appoinment a month ago I discovered thyroid blood results I had never seen before from 22+ years ago showing I had been left subclinical hypothyroid for years before overt ‘diagnosed’, and even endo. agreed perhaps if I’d been treated earlier then other ailments would not have followed!

[arTistapple in reply to Judithdalston]

I have to say your experience almost duplicates mine.

[arTistapple]

Duckie please see my reply to Obsidian. I meant it to be quick but I was intrigued by her reply to you.

I have a prescription for beta blockers but I have as yet not used them. For me - I am intrigued again by my need for them, a la medics. Basically I have no idea how quickly they might work. My husband has atrial fibrillation and takes them daily. The doctor wanted him originally to use them as ‘a pill in your pocket’, so that implies a fairly quick result. Ok so I understand the need for them in atrial fibrillation. It’s an issue with the electrics in the heart. So for those circumstances it’s clearer. The problem for my husband is he can’t sense the speed of his heart, hence his choice to use them daily.

However in my experience (which chances are may be quite different from yours) my ‘palpitations’ are strong and pounding. Whilst doctors may feel obliged to treat with beta blockers it’s not always atrial fibrillation that is the matter, although this possibility makes doctors nervous. Without a proper diagnosis (could be you) you may be taking the pills with no actual need for them.

Heart palpitations themselves are mostly not dangerous but without a complete understanding of how/why they are happening, it’s frightening and that fear tends to escalate them. In fact one can feel quite patronised by this, likely, incomplete diagnosis.

My first port of call would be a full thyroid blood test - privately if necessary, including most importantly T3 and report back to the Forum where you will get more guidance from an Admin person who will help you interpret your results.

It’s best to look at the possibilities of under/over medication first!

[Judithdalston in reply to arTistapple]

My Long Covid high HR ( 100-135 common) is not felt, except it can be accompanied by more noticeable breathlessness notably when standing cooking at stove ( so set off by standing ‘postural hypotension’ (PH), use of hands slightly held up to stir/ hold pan, and the heat). It can also go high for tiniest of movements eg already been sitting on sofa and slight lean forward to reach for water glass HR up 40+ bpm. The high BP and HR contributed to me being put on bisoproll, with 4 other hypertensives, but after the tilt test table showed the consultant removed the bisoprolol first as inappropriately stopping HR rising, as body wanted it to, to compensate the BP plummeting and getting oxygenated blood to brain. So for me had high HR but bisoprolol not right drug!

[humanbean]

I take beta blockers (Bisoprolol) for tachycardia (fast heart rate) which I developed when I had very, very low iron and ferritin. Unfortunately, having begun, my tachycardia has never gone away despite me optimising my iron and ferritin.

I've never understood exactly what palpitations are.

[duckie21 in reply to humanbean]

Yea it's all to do with our thyroid issues . I'm also on a beta blockers as I've had a few small heart attacks all caused thru to much thyroid medication. Just can't win with this B disease

[Judithdalston in reply to duckie21]

just curious, read back to your first post a month ago when you had given up the idea of T3 2 mcg dose, why do you say your heart problems were a result of ‘too much thyroid medication’? Was this high FT4, what was your TSH then?

[duckie21 in reply to Judithdalston]

Gosh that a long time ago . I can't be sure about this at the time I was feeling poorly as my t4 was high . I then cut back on t4 and added t3 but it didn't improve matters .A s I had had a couple of heart attacks I was advised to stay away from t3 . But who would know it's so hard to pin point what cause all these symptoms

[Judithdalston in reply to duckie21]

I remember starting T3, to go with levo.at a tiny 2.5ish dose how almost immediately I got palpitations, but also got my stiff painful hips loosened up. I described this to the endo.last month and the description, perhaps more so than 20+ years of thyroid blood results, seemed to be the pointer to him that I was definitely someone who needed and benefitted from the T3! Before the T3 my FT3 was at 3% ( on 150mcg levo.) and even in good times seemed to rise to 13% in range just took 18 years to realise it!